Logitech Pop Icon Keys review: a small, portable and inexpensive keyboard

Ergonomics

Like the other products in the Pop Keys range, the Pop Icon Keys design relies heavily on the choice of colors, offered in four on the official Logitech website: pink and off-white, lilac and off-white, graphite and green, and finally off-white and orange (our test version).

Made entirely of plastic, the chassis of the Pop Icon Keys gives the impression of a toy, but its construction is not of poor quality. Certainly, it is easy to twist it with both hands while intentionally trying to rotate it to two opposite sides, but we did not observe any recession when typing, no matter how hard it was. If its rear and front faces are made of the same slightly roughened white plastic, its edges are coated with a smooth, reflective plastic. A choice designed to improve typing comfort on the sometimes sharp edges of portable keyboards, but which provides a tone cheapalmost dated with a yet successful design.

Just like the MX Keys range, it will not be possible to adjust the tilt angle with rear wedges. You will therefore have to appreciate its profile, rising to the highest point at 22 mm, to hope to benefit from it.

Still on the subject of measurements, let's take the opportunity to take out the ruler… With its 13.6 cm in height, the Pop Icon Keys is a tad smaller than the MX Keys Mini, but decidedly wider at 32.4 cm. This difference is explained by the presence of a column of additional keys, sandwiched between the Sup key and the Left Arrow. They are intended to be personalized through the Logi Options+ software (which we will return to later) with two switchable function modes nicknamed Office and Leisure.

No need to look behind, under or elsewhere: the Pop Icon Keys does not include a USB port. And the absence of any external port means battery operation: two AAAs are necessary to power the Pop Icon Keys. Concerns about the ecological footprint are understandable – and we would recommend opting for reusable batteries, for that matter – but Logitech promises up to 36 months of battery life on a single pair of batteries. Significant longevity, and it is no surprise that the keyboard did not fail during the weeks of testing.

To use it, you will have to use Bluetooth 5.3, fortunately Swift Pair certified for automatic linking with a Windows device from the first connection, or via the Logi Bolt dongle which is not included with the keyboard. We can understand this decision when we see the ease with which our editorial staff accumulates dongles of all kinds. That said, anyone launching into the Logitech ecosystem will find themselves limited in accessibility options. Also, don't expect to be able to fiddle with your motherboard's BIOS without 2.4 GHz or USB connectivity.

Still in terms of similarities with the MX Keys, the POP Icon Keys uses its double screen printing, bringing together the different functions of the macOS and Windows keyboards on the same keys. The result is inevitably cluttered and difficult to read. It would have made more sense to offer separate versions for the two ecosystems, but the decision is not surprising for economic reasons. Another concession, the absence of backlighting makes the keyboard difficult to use in a dark room. While we're on the subject of keys, let's point out that they have a fairly pronounced concave shape.

This is obvious, but remember that the Pop Icon Keys is not intended for use gaming. Already by the presence of chiclet switches, poorly suited to the reactive use of video games, but also the absence of N-Key rolloveronly six keys can be activated simultaneously. The use of Bluetooth, sensitive to signal interference, is also not recommended for intense FPS sessions.

Conclusion

Overall rating

How does the rating work?

With the Pop Icon Keys, Logitech has an interesting economic proposition. Priced at around €60, the small keyboard has something to please with impressive battery life (via two batteries, of course) and pleasant typing. Obviously, we have to make some concessions, particularly on construction and a lack of connectivity.